Five years ago: Vermont’s civil unions law, which granted gay couples most of the rights, benefits and responsibilities of marriage, went into effect. The Confederate flag was removed from atop South Carolina’s Statehouse. Actor Walter Matthau died in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 79.

One year ago: Saddam Hussein scoffed at charges of war crimes and mass killings, making a defiant first public appearance in an Iraqi court since being hunted down seven months earlier. Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Hong Kong to demand democratic rights from China. The Cassini spacecraft sent back photographs of Saturn’s shimmering rings.